'I feel like I'm being punished for having children'

Nicole and her husband Darren have to use foodbanks even though he is in full-time work

A mother-of-five whose family has to rely on foodbanks despite her husband working full-time has said scrapping the government's two-child benefit cap would be "life changing".

The cap prevents most families from claiming means-tested benefits for any third or additional children born after April 2017.

Ministers have hinted that the limit, introduced by the previous Conservative government, could be lifted in the Budget on Tuesday.

"I can't tell you what a difference it would make," Nicole Parkinson from Sale in Greater Manchester said.

Nicole said the cost of living has increased significantly since her youngest child was born

"Our children never go without, we make sure of that but it's a constant worry. Food, books, school uniform. I've been wearing the same clothes for 12 years," the 30-year-old said.

Nicole told the BBC she had to leave her job last year due to the cost of childcare and has not been able to find work she can fit around her son's nursery since.

She said although her husband works full time, they now have to rely on foodbanks to get by because their Universal Credit payments do not cover their whole family's needs.

"I've been working since I was 13, I've always paid into the system and now when we need help the system isn't there for us," Nicole said.

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She said the cost of living has increased significantly since her youngest child was born, which means they are constantly worrying about money.

"The living costs have just tripled and the wages have stayed the same," she said.

"Now it feels like you're being punished for having children."

Nicole's situation is similar to others impacted by the cap.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions, 59% of households affected by the policy are in work.

Nicole said her struggle is made worse by the misconceptions people have about people who use Universal Credit.

"I used to be so embarrassed using the foodbank, especially with my husband being in work. But people don't realise families can still struggle while working," she said.

"They don't realise that not everyone's circumstances are the same. And it's the children that are suffering because of it, how can people ignore that?"

The cap, which came into effect in April 2017, was among changes to the benefits system announced by then Chancellor George Osborne in 2015.

A total of 1.6 million children are living in larger families who cannot claim these means-tested benefits as a result.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves hinted that the policy could be changed in the Budget when she told the BBC it was not right that children in bigger families were "penalised" through "no fault of their own".

Anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust said the "two-child limit is the single biggest driver of child poverty"

Anti-poverty charity Trussell Trust said the two-child limit is "the single biggest driver of child poverty" and scrapping it would be the "morally the right thing to do".

The food bank provider said the policy is pushing millions of families into deeper hardship and holding children back from having a good start in life.

"Every week, food banks in the Trussell community support parents who've been doing everything they can to protect their children from hunger," Helen Barnard, director of policy at Trussell, said.

"Skipping meals for weeks so there's enough for the kids to eat, making games out of wrapping up in blankets to avoid turning on the heating, trying to pretend everything's okay but it's not okay."

A government spokesperson said: "Every child, no matter their background, deserves the best start in life.

"That's why our Child Poverty Taskforce will publish an ambitious strategy to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty."